History Maker: Keke Palmer To Play First Black Cinderella On Broadway!

Actress Keke Palmer is on quite a roll of “firsts” these days. Not only is she be the youngest talk show host in TV history, but she was recently tapped to play the lead in the upcoming Broadway production of “Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.” Palmer is the first African-American actress to play the role on the Great White Way according to The Washington Post.

Can the 20-year-old belt out a tune? Yes, she sure can! Palmer released an album back in 2007, “So Uncool,” which was followed by three mixtapes, the last one being two years ago. Palmer also appeared recently in the TLC’s TV biopic, “CrazySexyCool: The TLC story.” In that film, she not only acted but danced and sang, further demonstrating her arsenal of talents.

Palmer is so thrilled about her historical theatrical coup that she tweeted about it Monday:

Regarding her Broadway role, Palmer does give props to singer and actress Brandy for paving the way for her. Brandy played the role of Cinderella back in 1997 for television in a production by the late Whitney Houston. Palmer told the Associated Press, “I feel like the reason I’m able to do this is definitely because Brandy did it on TV.”

Palmer’s historical Broadway role comes on the heels of actor Norm Lewis’ casting as the first black men to play the Phantom in Broadway’s “The Phantom of the Opera.”